UNIVERSITY CORNER
Military Advanced Education & Transition
Joel DePriest, Director of Online Student Engagement ECPI University Q: To begin with, could you please provide a brief overview of your school’s history, mission and curriculum? What is your school’s background in military education? A: As the name East Coast Polytechnic Institute suggests, ECPI University has been focused on vocational and technical education since its founding in 1966. While the University’s program offerings have evolved over time to include technology, health science, nursing, business, criminal justice, and culinary arts, the mission to equip students for careers in high-demand fields through accelerated, hands-on education remains unchanged. Serving members of the U.S. military has always held special meaning at ECPI University, as its founder, Alfred Dreyfus, was one of the many people liberated through the efforts of the U.S. soldiers who landed on the beaches of Normandy in World War II. As a University, we are committed to providing excellent education for active duty military, reservists, veterans, as well as their families. Q: What online degree and certificate programs do you offer and how do these distance learning programs fit in with the lives of active duty and transitioning military personnel? A: Through our unique accelerated format, we offer associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees 100% online for programs such as Electronics Engineering Technology, Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Cyber & Network Security, Software Development, Web Design & Development, Healthcare Administration, Radiologic Sciences, Nursing (MSN), Business Administration, Accounting, IT Management, Criminal Justice, Homeland Security, and more. Because our programs are asynchronous, there is never a specific time or day during the five-week terms when students have to be logged into their courses, so they can complete their coursework whenever works best for their schedules. We have had scores of military students complete their degrees while stationed stateside, deployed overseas, working as reservists, or during the various stages of transition after service. Our staff and faculty are familiar with the unique challenges that military students often face, and we seek to assist and accommodate them however possible. Q: What are some of your school’s main goals in meeting the future challenges of online education for the military? A: In keeping with our institution’s technology-centric origins, ECPI University Online is forward-thinking in the ways we use technology to create a dynamic student experience in the online classroom. We utilize 20 | MAE Summer Issue 13.3
numerous virtualization platforms, video instruction, mobile apps, and cloud-based solutions in our online classes, and we even mail physical hardware to students in certain programs to make our online courses as hands-on and possible. We are constantly seeking to innovate in our online classes by applying new technologies as they cross the horizon. These innovations, combined with our flexible online format, are part of our strategic efforts to remove barriers to education that military students have historically faced. Q: What do you think are the key issues facing higher education today? A: One of the critical issues facing higher education today is the pressure to align degree programs with career paths for students after they graduate. Equipping students with high-demand skills has been a driving focus for ECPI University since its inception. Because of our accelerated format, our students are poised to seize opportunities in the job market faster than students who are studying at a traditional pace. Our curriculum is driven by market demands, and we regularly update our programs based on the insight of employers and industry experts. This is also why we hire faculty who have relevant work experience in their field of study—they provide unique insight for our students into their industry, and they teach them how to posture themselves for long-term career success. This is also supported by our Career Services team, who works with students to develop their career plans, whether that means remaining in the military or transitioning into a civilian career. Their services also include resume writing, interview preparation, and job searches—and are a lifetime benefit for alumni after they graduate. Q: How has your school positioned itself to serve military students? A: We participate in financial assistance programs such as Yellow Ribbon, GI Bill ®, Tuition Assistance, MyCCA, among others. We are aligned with organizations and programs such as Navy College Program Distance Learning Partnership, Navy College Program
for Afloat College Education, Marine Corps Career College Program, ArmyEd, Air Force General Education Mobile, and we are a SOC Member School. Our ongoing commitment to the military has led to us being ranked by Military Times as one of the Best Colleges for military and veterans for seven years running. We have also been recognized as a Military Friendly School for six years in a row by Victory Media. And U.S. News & World Report ranked us among the top online bachelor’s programs for veterans. We also have classrooms located on, or close to, select military bases so that we can provide convenient access to education for service members. Q: What is your school doing to keep up with growing technologies and opportunities related to distance learning? A: ECPI University Online, we like to say that we are using technology to “bridge the distance in distance education.” More than just keeping up with the everchanging landscape of technology, we are always looking for ways to leverage new technology in order to push the envelope of the online student experience. We have incorporated things like live chat and custom mobile apps to make services, staff, and faculty more accessible to students; our instructors now deliver live weekly instruction via video conference, which is then recorded and posted inside the online classroom; and new course design software is making classes more mobile-friendly. On top of that, we are exploring possibilities with things like remote access labs, virtual and mixed reality, and much more, all to create a new kind of online classroom for our students. Q: What have been some of the biggest lessons you have learned since assuming your current position? A: One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that our students’ experience is the best metric to gauge our success as a University. It’s the standard against which we measure our ideas and proposed initiatives. “How will this benefit our students?” is the starting point. Innovation is wonderful, but if it doesn’t help our students learn more deeply and dynamically, or if it doesn’t help them be more successful in their careers afterwards, then it misses the target. On the other hand, when students tell us that something we’re doing gave them a “lightbulb moment” in a course, or helped them overcome an obstacle to continuing their education, or when a graduate comes back to tell us how well their program equipped them for their new job, then we know that we’re on the right track. The student experience is the “big picture” that puts each staff and faculty member’s role into perspective. www.MAE-kmi.com